One of the most important things you can do to make sure that your computer information is protected is to Backup Your Data. Too often people end up having their computers crash and have made no effort to keep a copy of their important files. This makes it nearly impossible to get up and running quickly, and the loss can be devastating. Unfortunately, our computers today are wide open to failure. Even with the newest operating systems, the latest virus and firewall protection, and every other precaution available today, computers still crash. To combat this risk, do a backup!
There are many types of media that is available to make it fairly easy to back up your data. The most common is standard writeable or re-writeable compact discs. Almost every computer on the market now comes with a CD burner that allows you to back up your data onto a disc. The standard discs can hold between 70 and 80 mg's of information. If you buy these in a pack of 50 or more, the cost can be as low as $.20 per disk. This is a cheap and inexpensive way to make a copy of your information.
Now if that's not enough space for you (which it isn't for us) you can take the next leap up to DVD burners. There are all sorts of DVD burners on the market and the prices of these are dropping fast. You can currently get a standard external DVD burner for around $100 (if you prefer to simply plug it in), and internal one's are even cheaper. A standard DVD disc contains 4.7g of information, and there are even larger options available. The discs are also dropping in price, and can be bought for around $.30 to $.50 each if you buy 50 or more. This option gives you a large quantity of space for a file backup at an affordable price.
Beyond this there are lots of other storage mediums to choose from including Zip Drives, External Hardrives, Tapes, and more. If the basic CD or DVD options aren't the way you want to go, something like an external hardrive is a great option. Once purchase, there aren't any future costs or throw-away media. And, they can be bought as a plug-n-play device that holds huge amounts of information. The cost of these can be as low as $100. The only down side is that if your computer gets hit by lighting or a huge energy surge, the external hardrive will probably go down too. Having "off site" media backups is always more secure.
All of the above options are great ways to make your computer experience a safer one. By backing up your data files, music, movies, favorites, address book, and all the things you use every day on your computer, you will ensure that if something does go wrong it won't be a disaster! It's much simpler to wipe a computer clean, load on all the software you use, and get your data back off a disk, then it is to try to rebuild a sick computer to try to save everything. Be ahead of the game and do a backup!
(Also recommended is a software option called Retrospect Express HD which will automatically backup your files to an external hardrive for you on a regular basis.)
